Slipping Away
by Naohi
Summary: UNDER EXTENSIVE RECONSTRUCTION, CHAPTERS ARE OUT OF ORDER. dON'T READ UNLESS SEVERLY BORED AND WILLING TO BE SEVERELY CONFUZZLED.
1. Prologue Was it Real?

Hello everyone. I hope this little add on doesn't screw things up too much. I was minding my own business when a little voice in my head said, "wouldn't it be fun to mess with the readers heads?" If course I agreed, and found myself typing this up a little while later.

Enjoy!

Prologue: Should I Fail

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Kagome notched another arrow. Her hands shook with strain, with weariness, with sorrow, but the arrow stayed its course, aimed directly at Naraku's core.

Murky miasma billowed forth, snatching the arrow from the sky. The arrows holy light burned all miasma it touched, but it never touched Naraku's body. The dark lord regarded the young Miko coolly.

He smirked. "Go ahead, Kagome. Shoot me. This will definitely be amusing, you're mortal powers against me, Naraku,a near god. You have nothing to lose. Your friends are gone. Or, you could always choose the easy way out, like they did. I'm sure Inuyasha will be happy to see you."

Kagome swallowed, tears stinging her eyes. Inuyasha. Miroku. Sango. Even Shippo. Naraku had killed them all. Their souls had fled, embracing icy freedom from their prison of flesh and doubtful life, and had escaped into the frigid winter air, before Naraku pulled their souls back into him, before he had stolen their bodies to make puppets. Sango stood before her, Haraikotsu gripped in her hand, but it wasn't Sango. Sango was far away now, and would never return. Miroku stood further back, Shippo's small form on his shoulder, regarding Kagome with their soulless eyes. All of them had blank eyes, empty of all warmth, of all emotion. All that was left was a blank slate. No recognition lay in their depths.

Kirara sat purring in Naraku's lap, his long, taloned fingers oozing miasma into her silky coat as he stroked her. Kagome felt at her back for her quiver. Only 7 arrows left. 7 arrows to carry out her task. What she owed her comrades.

She turned suddenly; bow still stretched, towards Sango, and let the string slip from her fingers with a snap. The arrow rushed towards her, with deadly accuracy, towards her best friend, her comrade, her sister. The arrow flew straight and true, cleansing the poison in the air, before it sank deeply into Sango's chest.

Kagome sobbed, a shudder sent throughout her body, for what she had done, for what she had to do. They would have wanted it. They would have rather been killed a thousand times, ripped to shreds, endured all the pain the universe could throw at them, rather then turn on her, fight at Naraku's side. They were nothing more then empty shells, wearing her friend's faces,puppets tied to Naraku's hand.

Tears mingled with blood on the ground. She felt like she was breaking as she notched another arrow, destined for her adopted son Shippo. The one who tried to cheer her up. The one who made her laugh by teasing Inuyasha, and who always took her side in an argument, no matter who was right.

The force of the arrow knocked him off Miroku's shoulder, to the ground below. Miroku seemed to not even notice the absence of weight on his shoulder. He never wavered as the arrow sprung off the bow, speeding towards his heart. He didn't flinch; only fell back to the ground, when the arrow embedded itself deep in his chest.

Kagome fell to the ground, sobs wracking her small frame, weeping openly for the world to see. The only ones she cared about in the world... the only who could understand what she had been through… A cruel twist had made death the only mercy left for her to give her former friends.

Her whole world was dead. She knew deep in her soul, at that moment, that there was nothing left to live for except her responsibility. Her only wish, the shred of will that was keeping her alive, was to see Naraku die. For her comrades, and friends, trapped in Naraku's lies, unable to escape. For Inuyasha, and Kikyo, joined somewhere deep in hell. For all the nameless, faceless people in the world she would never know or meet, that had been hurt by Naraku, deceived, betrayed. For the very balance of the earth itslef, she must complete this one last task.

She bit her lip hard, and blood dripped down her chin. The blood of the betrayed.

"_I shall bring vengeance to them."_

Kagome's soul nested deep inside her, safe from the universe that had dealt so unfairly with her. This warrior was not Kagome. This was what Kagome has been born for, but she was not Kagome anymore. As Kikyo's purpose had been to protect the jewel, Kagome's purpose was to destroy it. Her life was not hers anymore, she had been given to this purpose the day she was concieved, even before then. She belonged to vengeance.

She rose, emotions heaving inside her, but they were not hers alone.

Her aura was as impassive as stone, and her face showed neither emotion, nor mercy. Anger swelled in her breast, and the bitterness of thousands of faceless souls, twisted and innocent, the pain, the sorrow, the tears, the blood, so much blood… All who had been changed by the jewel, by Naraku.

She straightened, and stood, notching her bow carefully. There was a controlled passion behind her, a cold calculation. She would not fight out of fire, and lose control of her emotions. She used her emotions as mere fuel, but her feelings had nothing to do with it. The task had to be done, and she was the one to do it. She would do it.

Naraku lay silent, studying the changes within the mortal girl.

The arrow stretched across the bow, eager to drink his blood, to strike him to the earth. For one instant, one impossibly long second, he saw Kikyo in her stance, In the curve of the bow, in her cold gray eyes. Fully robed as a Miko, robes billowing behind the powerful wave of magic in the arrow. But then she was Kagome, eyes with cold defiance, wearing the expression Kikyo wore on the day she died.

"You look just like Kikyo did yesterday..." Naraku drawled, tempted to tease his prey before he trapped her. Her face remained expressionless. He frowned. Kikyo was as edgy topic for Kagome, or so he had found while rifling through Inuyasha's soul. He diverted, trying to bring Kagome back again, anything to destroy the cold mask that lay upon her face. He needed her to be human for him to finally destroy her. Mortal.

Vulnerable.

"They came yesterday. Inuyasha and Kikyo came together. Seemed to be under the impression that they could defeat me alone, undo everything I've worked for with one simple strike. They were wrong. But I guess you already knew that, eh?" He chuckled.

"And Inuyasha said something awfully interesting before he died… thought you might want to hear it… As a courtesy before you die, eh? From one all powerful being to another?"

Kagome's response was to tighten her bow. But Naraku saw a spark behind her dark, soulless eyes, recognition in her mask of apathy. He had caught her attention, at least.

"He wanted me to kill him without you around. With Kikyo's assistance. He didn't want you, or anybody else to be there."

There was no tangible reaction to this statement, but Naraku saw pain flash across her eyes, before turning resolute again. And then he knew. He hand always known, but now, without a shadow of doubt. The miko halfling had fallen for the demon halfling. He smirked. How fitting. Mortals were so entertaining, and so full of surprises…

"But he fought hard. He got a few deep gashes on me before I absorbed him. But do you know what the last words were on his cold, dying lips?"

he looked at her impassive figure, standing resolute. And he knew he could kill her in one stroke.

"Kagome," he asked, a half smile playing upon his lips, "don't you want to know what his last words were?"

The arrow snapped forward, racing towards him, eager for death, the vengenace of thousands of people urging it faster, onward. The white light bloomed in its wake, stretching forth behind it, billowing like a sail. It was immense, and he could barely see her through the dazzling white light.

His eyes narrowed. A blast of miasma shot forth from his chest, matching the white light, marring its purity with deep purple streams, swirling and consuming the pure white light until all was black and gray, the world lost behind a thick layer of fog.

Kagome fell to her knees, weak from the burden of the heavy soul work she had performed, well beyond her years. Naraku shot forth, breaking through the beautiful barrier as if it was smoke. He landed in a crouch before the weary young Miko.

"You really want to know what he said, Kagome? You'll never know. You'll never even get the chance to ask him in hell. I'll make sure of that."

The flash of silver shone before her eyes, and cold iron bit her very soul. The last thing she felt was the cold of the air, and heard the dark laughter of evil triumphant, and then the void swallowed her, and she felt no more.

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Thank you for reading this prelude. It's funny, because I completely changed the story without acatually rewriting it, only adding this little piece to the beginning. I wanted to make you wonder if Kagome is really crazy or not. **Spoiler** is she simply going mad, or was it narakus further deceptionl so that instead of death she would simply never find peace in this world or the next? Even I don't know.

As always, reviews are wonderful, even if undeserved.

That's all for now. Thanks again.


	2. Ch I Waking to The Light

Hello dear readers, who by now must absolutely hate me. And for good reason. I couldn't find it within myself to continue adding chapters to this story, when the chapters already postedwere badly in need of repair. When I startred this story, I had no idea where it was going, so I wrote it as it came. Now, thankfully, I think I have at least a general direction, and maybe, god forbid, a plot line. I also had problems with the fact that I started writing this when I was 12. Nothing wrong with writers at that age, but there is always room for improvement, and after several writing classes and pointers from others I think I can improve upon this story. Thank you for your patience.

**Slipping Away**

**Chapter I  
Waking to the Dawn**

There was a steady beep. One…. Two… Three… Four… Kagome kept her eyes closed as she counted the muffled beat of her alarm clock, rising back to conscious thought very slowly.

She opened her eyes slowly… everything …was so slow… why did …it take so much… effort….

Slowly her eyelids moved, against their will they lifted blindly to the outside world. There was no alarm clock. It seemed to be an IV. The steady bleep came in short bursts, and squiggles lurched across the screen. She blinked once, than twice, and the fuzzy objects swam into view.

She felt a squeeze on her hand. Someone was holding her hand.

"Mom," a voice breathed. It sounded so far away. "Mom, I think she's waking up!" She heard a sharp intake of breathe from the other side of the bed. "Grandpa!" Shippo's voice said. "Get over here, she's waking up!

Three worried faces smiled down at her, shining with the kind of fresh hopeful disbelief that comes after a long succession of disappointments and disillusions. Sota, though youthful in face, had a distinct air that could only be described as mature, while Kagome could have sworn her mother didn't have as many lines in her face when she last saw her.

She tried to rise, but the effort was too great. She settled instead for reaching out her hand towards her mother. Her mother cradled it gently, stroking her thumb against the back of her palm. All was silent in the tiny room for a few moments, except for the steady interval of blips on the I.V, and the sounds of jostling movement and chatter outside, and the clatter of machines and supply carts. Kagome finally realized where she was. A hospital.

"Must have been a pretty bad fever, huh?" She smiled, attempting to break the silence that had befallen the room, then grimaced as a wave of nausea overtook her.  
Still no one in the room said anything. Kagome looked up. They all were watching her, but she knew she saw Mom exchange a glance with Grandpa.

"It was… It was a fever, wasn't it? Nothing serious, right?" She laughed, but it came out very raspy in her dry throat, and quickly turned to a cough. No one smiled. Instead, they appeared to exchange another glance.

"Mom… what… happened?" The happy smiles that had covered their faces but a few minutes ago had disappeared. Now she could see what she had only seen a shadow of before, the traces of worry and fatigue heavy in their features. They all looked…. So frail. This couldn't possibly be about her illness. What had transpired while she was gone?

Again the silence stretched on for what seemed like hours. Everyone looked at each other, unsure of where to start, what to say. Finally her mother broke the silence.  
"You've been very ill for a while. We were all so worried... But it's going to get better. Don't worry." She squeezed Kagome's hand.

This only agitated Kagome further. She had been in the Sengoku Jidai only a few days ago! "I know I'm ok. Just tell me what happened. You guys are starting to worry me."

Her mother suddenly stood up, and made a large fuss of smoothing out the already even bedcovers. Kagome recognized her mother's age old diversion for thinking time, and knew she was thinking of her next words.

"Kagome… You've been sick a very long time. Very long. The doctors were worried that you would never… well, that matters little now…. You're ok, and that's that… "Her mother babbled on, still straightening the blankets covering her child, chattering to comfort herself, more then her daughter. Trying to fill the empty, silent room with words and explanations. Justifications and empty promises.

Kagome knew something was wrong. It couldn't possibly be that bad, why was her mother so concerned? She was in a hospital, after all. They could fix anything wrong with her.

She turned to her grandpa, who had been silent all this time. "What's wrong with me, Doc, say it to me straight. Am I going to die?" She grinned jokingly.  
He smiled back weakly, taking the joke. "Well, Kagome, we all die someday. But your time has not come just yet. So far as we know."  
She smiled slightly, recognizing her grandpas morbid idea of a joke.

"Good to know." She glanced towards to the door, checking for privacy, for her next words were her darkest secret. "When will I be ready for more time hopping?" She beamed.

If the room could have become even quieter, it had. Even the far away clatter of appliances seemed muffled, as if unable to cut through the impenetrable silence.

"Well… have I got any messages? From Inuyasha? Is he having temper tantrums on the front lawn for me to come back yet?" She smiled knowingly. He was probably having a fit by now.

Now you could have cut the tension on the room with a knife. Or a very, very sharp spoon.

Her grandfather smiled gently, trying to comfort her. "No, Kagome. The doctor said you might still be slightly confused. It's been a long times since you've been awake.". The words seemed slightly empty. They weren't answers.

Now she was just plain annoyed. Everyone was tiptoeing around the subject, and acting blank when she mentioned the most important part of her life, the reason she was landed in the hospital in the first place.

"Could someone please just tell me what happened?

Her mother sighed. "We'll tell you what we know. Tell us what you remember happening last."

_She was warm, warm and safe. She was nestled somewhere. The texture of fabric was thick under her stomach, and gave off the warmth of the shirts owner. Thick, soft, snowy hair wandered around her face in the breeze lazily, while two sentinels stood careful watch at the top, alert and straight. Her arms we swung weakly around his neck, and her hands were bound carefully together with soft cloth on the other side. Two strong, clawed hands held her firmly, as air rushed past both bodies, streaming forward through the air. She was riding on Inuyasha's back. She felt so bad…. Her forehead burned… sweat dripped down from her body onto his thick soft tunic and mingled with his own, but if noticed, he said nothing. She felt so dizzy…. They were so far up. Instead of looking down, she nestled into his back, feeling his light, sunny warmth. Her hair blew into her face, but she didn't reach to push it out. Instead, she breathed deeply and evenly, drawing in the earth and sunlight and forest from his smell. She could smell the moon and sun and stars. _

A low murmur interrupted the dull roar in her ears. Fading in and out as she faded in and out. "Hold…. You can… wait for… Hold on…. Kagome… I love…."

She felt herself go limp and she could no longer hear his voice, or feel the dull red of the haori, or smell the world in his scent… she was gone…

There had been a battle with Naraku, but the bastard had escaped, taking Kotaku and his demon horde with him. Sango had wandered off with Kirara for time to think, and Miroku was gone as well when Kagome collapsed. They had tried to make her comfortable as possible, but by noon the next day she had been hallucinating, unable to even see the friends who clasped her hands. They had tried their medicines, but by that night she was burning so hot it hurt to touch her. They knew then they had to bring her back to her time, with their miraculous cures. It was her only hope.

They were a 5-day hike from Kaede's village, and the well. It would take far to long for them all to go, precious time that could not be wasted. Sango wrapped her gently with cold compresses and herbs, and Miroku wrote out instructions for Inuyasha. They were ready. They bound her to Inuyasha's back, tying her wrists loosely around his neck with wet rags.

Inuyasha ran all day and night, stopping only 4 times a day to change the rags, which were by then boiling from her body heat, and feed her and himself. On the eve of the 2nd day, he reached the village. Kaede stayed all night by her bed, mumbling words of comfort and wisdom while Inuyasha, exhausted, slept. At dawn the next day she was returned to her own time.

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"Well…." Kagome began, "We were battling Naraku, and I guess I overexerted myself, so I came down with a fever… Sango knew a little bit about how to care for them but it got worse, so Inuyasha took me home. And you brought me here."

She looked around expectantly at all of them.

" Kagome…." her mother sighed. "Remember that day that Buuyo got caught down the well, and you went down after him?"

She nodded. How could she forget, it was the day she met Inuyasha! Her mother continued.

"Well… you fell down the well…. And you hit your head… pretty badly. It gave you a bad concussion. Sota found you out there on his way home from school, and we brought you inside… You were in pretty bad shape. We brought you to the hospital immediately… but they couldn't wake you up.

Kagome's eyes widened slightly… this wasn't what happened…. What was…?

"At first you muttered in your sleep, tossed a little... but pretty soon you quieted down and… sort of… went to sleep." Her voice cracked. "We had you put on life support, but you didn't wake up, you just got deeper and deeper into a comatose sleep… Honey, you've been asleep for the past three years!" Her mother finally broke, and the dam crumbled, and she wept. Wept for her little girl who had returned from death.

The room was silent, except for the far way clatter of medical supplies and dustbins, and chatter of people. Birth and death sounded vaguely through the walls all around them, happiness and despair. And in that one little island, one silent little cell, a family rejoiced the life of one dead, and the girl, who could not yet cry for another type of death. Another type of loss.

Also worthy of mention is that while this is under construction, chapters will be out of order untilI replace them with others, etc, and this fic in general will be a mess. Please bear with me on that.


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